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Travel and general rust seemed to take its toll on Liverpool’s players, as they failed to build on the lead Sterling gave them five minutes into the contest. Liverpool and Olympiacos were on equal footing in terms of possession and territory for most of the game. Aside from Sterling’s goal, both teams created a few chances but lacked the sharpness and composure to finish them off.

The silver lining is that many likely (week one) starters played valuable minutes in Liverpool’s first International Champions Cup game. They showed that Rodgers’ philosophy and principles remain firmly in place.

Liverpool joins Manchester City atop its group in the Champions Cup with three points. The Premier League rivals will meet Wednesday at Yankee Stadium in New York City.

That’s all for now and thanks for joining us. Let’s discuss this one on Twitter @NESNsoccer and Facebook. Be sure to keep an eye out for some news, fan reactions, analysis and opinion that is on the way on NESN.com.

90th minute +4, 1-0 Liverpool: Jones makes an important save.

The Reds counter-attack, and Allen misses from close range after Ibe slots a pass his way.

90th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: There will be a minimum of four minutes of added time in the second half.

85th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Olympiacos is enjoying the majority of possession as the game reaches its closing stages.

80th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Bouchalakis takes the ball from Allen in the midfield, surges into the Liverpool penalty area and evades Coates’ tackle.

Bouchalakis might have scored, but Jones raced off his line to break up play before he could set up his shot.

Halftime, 1-0 Liverpool: That’s the end of the first half. Liverpool leads Olympiacos by one.

As expected, Liverpool showed some rust in the first half of its first International Champions Cup game, but the Reds also displayed some of the qualities that it used to take the Premier League by storm. The Reds were honest (albeit imperfect) defensively, and countered with lighting-speed. They created a few scoring chances, but lacked the sharpness to add to the scoreline.

Sterling showed great anticipation, speed and composure with his goal. Markovic showed similar qualities in a lively first 45 minutes of his Liverpool career.

Olympiacos is further along in its preseason and participation in this tournament. Its players are fitter and more willing to take a physical approach to the game, as the first half suggests.

45th minute +1, 1-0 Liverpool: Johnson is cautioned for a tackle he made before Olympiacos’ sweeping move.

The Liverpool fullback can’t believe he has been punished for it.

43rd minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Salino is cautioned for a hybrid tackle/drag-down on Sturridge.

39th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Diamantakos collects a short corner kick near the edge of Liverpool’s area, dribbles and shoots, but his effort goes wide of Jones’ goal.

37th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Markovic dribbles past two defenders into the Olympiacos penalty area but the Serbian misses the target with a right-footed shot.

Gerrard slipped a pass forward to Sturridge, and the Liverpool striker turn and shot from 20 yards out. Sturridge effort deflected off of Abidal, but Sterling darted into the box, arrived at the rebound and knocked it home.

3 p.m. ET: Liverpool begins its participation in the International Champions Cup on Sunday when it faces Olympiacos at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Liverpool continues to build its fitness and sharpness, as the start of the 2014-15 season nears. The Olympiacos game marks an inflection point in the Reds’ preseason because some players who represented their country at the 2014 FIFA World Cup could see their first action of the preseason.

This group includes the likes of England’s Steven Gerrard, Daniel Sturridge, Glen Johnson and Raheem Sterling as well as France’s Mamdou Sakho and Spain’s Pepe Reina.

Olympiacos will be the first of at least three opponents Liverpool will face in the International Champions Cup. The Reds also will take on Manchester City in New York City on Wednesday and AC Milan in Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday. If Liverpool wins its group, it then will travel to Miami where it will compete in the final on Aug. 2. For Liverpool, it all starts with Sunday’s contest against the Greek powerhouse, Olympiacos.

The game kicks off at 6 p.m. Join us right here for all the action from Soldier Field.